Week One: Nature(s) and Culture(s)

Russian Wedding Rituals

RUS 299

Fall 2017

Sept. 18, 25; Oct. 2, 9

5:00 -7:00 PM

Curtin 109

Dr. Meghan Murphy-LeeOffice hours

Curtin Hall 824Monday 12- 1 PM

414-229-4949Tuesday 11 AM- 12 PM

murphyle@uwm.eduand by appointment

Course Description

This course consists of an examination of the wedding ritual in Russia from a folkloric perspective. The class will be divided into time periods. First, we will study and discuss the pre-Christian or pagan period. The second class will discuss Russias Christian period. The third will focus on the Soviet era, while the final one will cover the contemporary, post-Soviet period. During each class, we will examine readings focusing on the particular period and will watch interviews and videos illustrating various parts of the wedding life cycle ritual.

Learning Outcomes

Our primary goal is to achieve a more sophisticated understanding of Russian society and the folk beliefs that underpin many of them. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Critically analyze a folkloric or literary text

2. Write a final essay incorporating class readings and discussion

3. Interpret and comment on the relationship of Russias ancient beliefs and traditions regarding the life cycle ritual over time

4. Interpret folkloric and anthropological articles to better understand the beliefs of the Slavic people

5. Discuss in an articulate manner the issues connected to Slavic folklore.

Criteria

A-Level

B-Level

Critically analyze a folkloric or literary text

-Clear analysis

-Articulate presentation

-Clear understanding of the text

-Analysis present but less clear

-Minor articulation / comprehension problems

Write an essay, incorporating class readings and discussion

-Proper citations to texts from class

-Relevant/accurate content

-Synthesis of ideas with clear understanding of the texts and discussion

-Proper citations may lack significant comment or development

-Ideas may be unclear, or less clear than an A-range paper

-Engagement with the texts, but less successfully than an A paper.

Interpret and comment on the relationship of Russias ancient beliefs and traditions regarding the life cycle ritual of wedding over time.

-Logical consistency

-Convincing argument based on textual analysis and class discussions

-May have minor logical inconsistencies or fallacies

-Less convincing argument, or minor problems with analysis of material

Interpret folkloric and anthropological articles to better understand the beliefs of the Slavic people

-Logical consistency in interpretation

-Convincing argument based on textual analysis and class discussions

-May have minor logical inconsistencies

-Less convincing demonstration of understanding of beliefs or minor problems with analysis of material

Discuss in an articulate manner the issues connected to Slavic folklore.

--Clear analysis

-articulate presentation

-Clear understanding of the issues connected to Slavic folklore

-Analysis present but less clear

-Minor articulation problems with regard to the issues connected to Slavic folklore

Class requirements and expectations

This class will consist of readings and slides posted on Desire to Learn (D2L). You must take the reading quiz for each day before you can access the slides for that same day. You must read the assignments, take the quizzes, and post on the discussion board before you can access the test and essay assignments.

Responsibility for good class discussion is everyones, and therefore I expect that you will:

keep up with the reading

complete posts on D2L before class

complete writing assignments and tests on time

All readings are available in PDF on D2L and are listed below:

Marker, Gary, et al.Everyday Life in Russian History: Quotidian Studies in Honor of Daniel Kaiser. Slavica Publishers, 2010.

Matthews, Mervyn.Mila and Mervusya: A Russian Wedding. Seren Books/Poetry Wales Press Ltd, 1999.

Rouhier-Willoughby, Jeanmarie.Village values: negotiating identity, gender, and resistance in urban Russian life-cycle rituals. Slavica Publishers, 2008.

Worobec, Christine D. "Witchcraft beliefs and practices in prerevolutionary Russian and Ukrainian Villages."The Russian Review54.2 (1995): 165-187.

A credit hour is an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally-established equivalency and reasonably approximates not less than:

Classroom lecture and discussion

6 hours

Discussion board posting and other assignments

3 hours

Reading and class preparation

5 hours

Film viewing

1.5 hours

You must have access to a reliable broadband internet connection, or be willing to spend appreciable amounts of time on campus in a computer lab completing the work. UWM offers discounted broadband service through Time Warner Road Runner, or you can contact AT&T for DSL broadband service at http://www.att.com.

Required Electronic Literacy:

Be familiar with Microsoft Word or similar word processing program. Be familiar with Adobe Acrobat. Check your UWM email and course management software (D2L) and its associated D2L email EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Course Website

As we mentioned earlier, this course is administered through the set of online course management tools known as Desire to Learn, or D2L. If you have studied at UWM before, you are most likely familiar with this system already. The course website can be accessed at http://d2l.uwm.edu. When you go to this site, log in. Your username is your UWM email account name (without the @uwm.edu) and your password is your ePanther password. Once you are on the site, you will need to click on our course title in the set of classes for which you are registered for this semester.

A handout on access to D2L will be sent to you with this syllabus. A 24-hour help desk for D2L is available. You can reach it by calling (414) 229-4040 (if you are within the Milwaukee area). Alternately, you can call toll-free at 877-381-3459. You can also email help@uwm.edu, although an email may not be the most expeditious way to get a response in an emergency.

PLEASE NOTE THAT UNLESS THERE IS A CAMPUSWIDE D2L ISSUE, TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WITH D2L and/or WITH YOUR COMPUTER ARE NOT A VALID EXCUSE FOR NOT COMPLETING YOUR WORK.

In some cases, if the student presents proper documentation of a technical issue which is truly beyond her or his control, I can accommodate her or him. On proper documentation, see Dealing with Technical Issues which was sent to you with the syllabus and can also be found on the content page of your D2L site.

Save and back up your work frequently to TWO INDEPENDENT, PERMANENTLY AND PERSISTENTLY AVAILABLE LOCATIONS. One location might be your local hard drive, while the 2nd could be a location in the cloud such as Google Drive or email to yourself. Dont risk losing all your work at the very last minute. This problem is preventable.

Distribution of Grades

Attendance and in class discussion25%

1 test on readings and class discussion25%

1 short essay (2-3 pages) based on readings, discussion and films seen in class25%

4 Discussion board postings25%

Grading Scale:

B+ = 88-89C+ = 78-79D+ = 68-69 F = 59 and below

A = 93-100B = 83-87C = 73-77D = 63-67

A- = 90-92B- = 80-82C- = 70-72D- = 60=62

About reading: These are complex texts, and they require careful reading. This reading cannot be rushed, and you will miss out on much of what makes these works meaningful if you try to plow through them in a hurry. So, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to complete assigned readings figure at least two minutes per page bare minimum. To prepare for class discussions, quizzes and exams, make copious notes while reading, study the footnotes, note anything that does not make sense so you can ask about it, and continually question and analyze your and others responses to the text.

Attendance and Discussion (25%) Since discussion of the texts and films are a vital part of the class, attendance will be taken at each meeting.

Short essay (25%) This short essay will be based on the readings and discussion and will offer you the opportunity to integrate the knowledge you have gained. You will be given a choice of 2 topics and must write a 2-3 page essay on this topic. All references to the work in question must be cited.

Exam (25%) This exam is designed to gauge your conversance with the critical concepts and aspects of historical and cultural contexts discussed in class and presented during lectures and student presentations. They are take-home, open-book, but not group exams. You will be given one week to complete the exam and must submit it before class on the exam date. The exam consists of two parts:

Identifications (people, concepts, characters, historical events, etc.) drawn from lectures and class discussion, and essay (readings and films), which will ask you to interpret the works we have read and viewed based on class discussion.

Discussion Board Posting (25%) Once per week, I will post discussion questions. In this instance, every student must post one answer of at least 200 words. This answer must be original and have at least two specific referenc